Inflation in Croatia accelerated again in August.

Consumer prices were 4.1 percent higher than in the same month last year, while compared with July they rose by 0.3 percent.

This is shown by the first estimate published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics on September 1. This ended a three-month streak of slowing annual inflation.

Energy leads price growth

The largest increase was recorded in energy, which became as much as 17.4 percent more expensive compared with August last year. In just one month, energy prices increased by 3.7 percent.

Services also became noticeably more expensive. Their prices rose by 7.2 percent year-on-year, and by an additional 0.1 percent compared with July.

Food is not the main problem this time

Prices of food, beverages, and tobacco are almost the same as a year ago, with a slight increase of 0.1 percent. Compared with July, this product group became cheaper by 0.2 percent.

Industrial non-food products excluding energy were 1.3 percent cheaper than last August. Their prices fell by a further 0.9 percent on a monthly basis.

Final data arrive in mid-September

According to the harmonized index that allows comparison of Croatia with other European Union member states, annual inflation amounted to 3.7 percent. On a monthly basis, prices according to this indicator rose by 0.3 percent.

This is the first estimate based on most of the collected retail price data. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics will publish the final data for August on September 15.